Husband Under Restraint Order Shouldn't Have Gun

EDITORIAL

It's possible that nothing could have been done to save Lori Gellatly's life. Police say she was killed by the angry husband she was trying to get away from. But the case offers a lesson that could help other women caught in a similar trap.

Ms. Gellatly was the 32-year-old Oxford woman killed, police charge, by her husband, Scott Gellatly. The couple had an angry confrontation on April 1, after which Ms. Gellatly applied for a temporary protective order and moved with her young children to her parents' home nearby. Ms. Gellatly's mother and Mr. Gellatly's ex-wife also applied for temporary orders.

Police got an arrest warrant for Mr. Gellatly charging him with third-degree assault and disorderly conduct, related to the April 1 incident.

But he fled the state and could not be served with the orders or the warrant. Police reached him by phone and told him to turn himself in on the assault charge, but he did not.

He did return to the state, however, and on Wednesday morning, according to police, broke into Lori Gellatly's parents' house, shot and killed his wife and seriously wounded her mother. Police said he was attempting to take his own life with car exhaust when they closed in on him.

The case exposes a deadly flaw in the system. National data show that when a man in a domestic violence situation owns a gun, the women in his life are five times more likely to be killed, said Karen Jarmoc, executive director of Connecticut Coalition Against Domestic Violence. But when an abused partner applies for a temporary protective order, courts do not order the abuser to give up his guns.

Temporary orders last two weeks, and are usually followed by a hearing to determine if there should be a permanent restraining order. If one is granted, then the armed partner has to relinquish the firearms.

If a judge grants a temporary order, guns should be given up at that point. Why? Because the period immediately after filing for a restraining order is the most dangerous and volatile time in a relationship, when an abuser is losing control and could resort to violence, said Ms. Jarmoc.

If domestic violence counselors were available in civil courts across the state, instead of just Hartford and Bridgeport, they could direct victims to safe shelter. But in this case Ms. Gellatly might have felt safe at her parents' home.

It's hard to fault the police, based on what is known about the case. That Mr. Gellatly owned guns, and that three woman had filed for orders against him, made it a serious matter. But police took it seriously and were working it. There are more than 5,000 applications for temporary restraining orders each year. Police had a warrant for Mr. Gellatly's arrest on two misdemeanors. That doesn't necessarily trigger a nationwide manhunt.

What remains to be seen is whether any effort was made to determine if Mr. Gellatly suffered from mental illness and, if so, to treat him for it. That is the great unknown in so many pointless and tragic killings.

The Connecticut Coalition Against Domestic Violence's 24/7 emergency hotline number is 888-774-2900.